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I currently have availability. Please get in touch to enquire.

I am an experienced Psychotherapist, Art Psychotherapist and EMDR Therapist who offers a warm, friendly welcome and an empathetic, non-judgmental approach. I have 15 years' post qualified experience working with children and adults. Having qualified in 2011 with an MA in Art Psychotherapy Practice, I am HCPC, ÌÇÐĹÙÍø and BAAT registered.

In psychotherapy or art psychotherapy sessions, we can talk and, if you want to, use art making to help you think about your thoughts, feelings and experiences. When considering trauma, talking alone may not feel enough to fully explore and process experiences and resulting feelings. We can see what emerges and consider this together. We might consider themes, symbols and metaphors that emerge in the work. 

I am also trained in EMDR, which is a more structured approach than psychotherapy. EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing, a process that uses eye movement or bi-lateral tapping to help process traumatic memories and resulting self beliefs. In EMDR, we navigate the process together and work collaboratively to think about which memories and self beliefs you want to work on.

I am experienced in helping people heal from trauma, including those who have had multiple traumatic experiences, also known as complex trauma. These might include situations where someone has been extremely stressed, hypervigilant and scared, as well as those experiences that might be more commonly thought of as 'trauma', such as life threatening situations. I work with you to think about past experiences that might underlie some of these present symptoms. I am also experienced in working with attachment difficulties. 

I work at your pace and give you the space you need to talk and make art. I am generally non-directive in psychotherapy sessions, preferring to meet you where you are at and give you space to bring what you need to therapy.  There is no pressure to use the art materials if you prefer to talk, and no pressure to talk if you want to focus on making art. Through the therapeutic relationship, talking and art making, we can think together about your thoughts, feelings and experiences. 

EMDR Therapy is a more structured and directive approach. I will firstly discuss this with you before we begin EMDR, to ensure this approach feels comfortable and the right fit for you. If you are happy to go ahead with EMDR, we will have an initial consultation session, as a chance for me to gain a deeper understanding of your experiences and how they have impacted you. We will then think about a 'trauma timeline', as a first step to mapping out your experiences and planning how we will structure the sessions. Before moving to any processing of trauma, we will spend some time developing regulation and grounding techniques which will help you feel safe and comfortable to move through the processing stages of EMDR. I will always check-in with you and work at your pace. If at any stage the process feels too overwhelming or uncomfortable, we will work differently to make therapy feel manageable for you.

I offer an initial 20 minute phone call, free of charge, as a chance for you to ask any questions about therapy and how it might help. If you then want to go ahead, our first session will be an initial consultation as a chance for me to gain a deeper understanding of any issues you want to work through. This is also a chance for you to discuss what you would like to gain from therapy. 

In Art Psychotherapy, I suggest we try four sessions for you to get a feel for sessions and decide if you would like to continue. We can then think together about whether you want to continue therapy. 

In EMDR therapy, I suggest we try six sessions to start with. Often, the preparation phases require 4-6 sessions, so it is likely we will need to keep working beyond these initial 6 sessions in order to start the processing stage of EMDR. While there is a structure to the sessions, I will work with you at your pace, and keep checking in with you about how the sessions are feeling.

I hold session in person at the Priory Street Centre in York.